35 miles each way for work , possible ?

JdubMotorMan · May 11, 2011

Hi guys , I'm really looking to cut down on the gas spending and I'm considering taking my motorized bicycle to work every day 5 days a week there and back . It's roughly 35 miles each way and I'd say about 3 miles of that is hills each way ... can it be done ? i don't mind leaving early , I would like to save on gas. My current car gets 22 mpg on a good day . What's the farthest you ride or know someone that rides on a daily basis ? cvlt1

BarelyAWake · May 11, 2011

You may find this interesting: http://motorbicycling.com/f16/commuting-cruising-27937.html

70 miles a day is a serious commute on a MB... not sayin' it isn't feasible - far from it as that's the "normal" mileage I'll rack up on my weekend jaunts, but commuting to & from work is a bit different as you've a time limit lol

How reliable has your bike been? How long have you had it? What's the farthest trip you've taken?

If you had it for a while & worked the kinks out, ride it a bunch w/o issue there's no reason why it wouldn't work *shrug* After all, you've still yer car for backup & those nasty, rainy days heh

JdubMotorMan · May 11, 2011

true time is a factor , but mostly on the way to work ... after work I'm just cruisin

as far as reliable , I'm pretty close to working out the kinks ... got through the blown head gaskets... now I remember to check the head bolts often along with everything else...

the main thing I want to fix now is the little bit of gas that keeps showing up on my air filter and carb ... I've read some posts on that so I'm going to look into that tomorrow ...

what's the farthest you've gone in one trip with no issues ? what kind of regular maintenance do you do on yours to keep it in good shape?

JdubMotorMan · May 11, 2011

BarelyAWake said:
You may find this interesting: http://motorbicycling.com/f16/commuting-cruising-27937.html

70 miles a day is a serious commute on a MB... not sayin' it isn't feasible - far from it as that's the "normal" mileage I'll rack up on my weekend jaunts, but commuting to & from work is a bit different as you've a time limit lol

How reliable has your bike been? How long have you had it? What's the farthest trip you've taken?

If you had it for a while & worked the kinks out, ride it a bunch w/o issue there's no reason why it wouldn't work *shrug* After all, you've still yer car for backup & those nasty, rainy days heh

I responded in the quick quote below .. not sure if you will get a response to your email if I do that ?? .xx.

BarelyAWake · May 11, 2011

JdubMotorMan said:
true time is a factor , but mostly on the way to work ... after work I'm just cruisin

as far as reliable , I'm pretty close to working out the kinks ... got through the blown head gaskets... now I remember to check the head bolts often along with everything else...

the main thing I want to fix now is the little bit of gas that keeps showing up on my air filter and carb ... I've read some posts on that so I'm going to look into that tomorrow ...

what's the farthest you've gone in one trip with no issues ? what kind of regular maintenance do you do on yours to keep it in good shape?

The "little bit of gas" in yer air filter is most likely normal & jus' backblow if you've one of the two stroke kits, they're unreeded so there's a reverse pressure pulse every compression stroke. If that's the case I'd not worry about it as it's jus' oiling yer filter for ya lol

I've found 100 miles is about my limit - the bike could obv do more, but at that point I'm getting pretty tired

As for matainance - it's pretty much jus' the normal keepin' an eye on things, a quick "preflight" ta make sure the wheels are still on it etc. Chain & cable lube, tire pressure, brake adjustments *shrug* TBH I mostly ignore the thing unless I'm going on a longer trip.

The HTs are pretty good at "warning" you of an impending problem if ya know it well enough to speak it's language - when the head bolts are just starting to be not quite tight enough you'll get a "popping" sound when it first starts up cold & goes away when it warms up, expands & seals for example...

Hammond Egger · May 11, 2011

The only way I would try use a MB for a 70 mile a day commute is if I could pull a trailer with three other MB's and a moped in it. They just aren't reliable enough.

BarelyAWake · May 11, 2011

Depends entirely on the build - I've averaged about 6000 miles a year (16.5 miles a day) for a lil over 2 years now as a year-round daily driver & commuter & I've never, not once ever missed a day of work. I was 1/2 hour late one time 'cause I had a flat & my new replacement tube split (thanks wallyworld lol)... but hey, I figure that's acceptable

I'm not sayin' these things are bulletproof, but if you've worked the kinks out then there's no reason not to try I figure - there's a bunch of members that ride those kinds of distances every weekend for fun so what's the difference? The bike doesn't know where it's going lol

Remember the redundancy - while I'd not look forward to doin' it every day, worst case scenario if the engine did fail for w/e reason, you can ofc use those things ya normally rest yer feets on... urm... whadda call them, the things ya use ta start the motor?

...Oh right - the pedal dealies ofc

Ya know some folks use only those things ta get around? Crazeh but true rotfl

In all seriousness, if JdubMotorMan was talking about this as the only means of getting to work I'd be touch more conservative, but the interest is just offsetting the car usage & reducing fuel consumption - there's a backup vehicle in case things go badly *shrug*

bairdco · May 11, 2011

i agree with what Barely Awake says. these things can be reliable, in two years i've never been stranded (broke a few chains, but luckily within blocks of my house.) an average day's cruise for me is 20-30 miles, more on a nice day, and even more on the weekends. i've done a few 100+ mile runs just for fun.

if you live in LA, you might even get to work faster than if you were in your car.

i was in Orange with some friends and beat them home to Costa Mesa (about 15 miles) by about 20 minutes during rush hour.

happyvalley · May 11, 2011

Please post back your findings, how it worked out and for how long.

Hammond Egger · May 11, 2011

Try pedaling a motorized bike 35 miles a couple of times and then tell me what you think. Especially a beach cruiser with one speed.

fall_down_stand_up · May 11, 2011

What kind of engine do you plan on using?A HT engine,or other?I drive 15 a day round trip,6 days a week on my HT engine and havent had the best of luck with the engines,but have really cut back on the RPMs and now drive it 22mph and the latest engine is lasting alot longer....
If you go with a GEBE kit or a ezmotors Qmatic,you will have alot better luck....
I personally wouldnt drive 35 miles each way to work....It takes alot out of you setting on a bike for a hour or 2....You say you have lots of hills,and that will be another thing to slow you down....
John

Allen_Wrench · May 12, 2011

I think the reliability factor is very strongly linked to the very bike that you have. In the beginning, with my first bike, I went to some trouble to "dial it in" - tune it, port it a bit, work the bugs out early on. It had just yer basic two-smoker happy time with an NT.

After that it was my daily driver. To work & back, just shy of 19 miles round trip (which isn't that far really). I even had rubber pants for rainy days. The only times she EVER crapped out on me were 1) when I didn't put enough gas in the tank, and 2) when I got hit by that truck, and that was not her fault or mine.

I have checked that same engine out (runs great with the new carb, old one got busted in the accident) and I have since mounted it in my JC Higgins project. I expect more long-term reliability out of it. And, hey, even if I do ever have to do some serious rebuilding, I won't care because parts are way cheaper than for a car and these things are so easy to work on that there's almost no reason not to.

moonshiner · May 12, 2011

70 miles total is a long way to dive each day to and from work no matter what you drive , i would either buy the best MB kit for about $600 or just buy a CBR 250 R Honda motorcycle that gets 77 MPG and i would cherish only using a gallon of gas a day , what are you using now , 6 gallons of gas a day ? at over $4 a gallon , $24 dollars a day , $120 dollars a week in gas ! verses $ 20 for the motorcycle , the motorcycle would pay for its self in a little over two years or the best MB kit would pay for its self in 4 1/2 months , i would for sure be finding another way to work than a 22 mpg car .....

i don't think i would trust a HT for that kind of mileage . .flg.

spad4me · May 12, 2011

The only guy that I know of that used a super motorized bicycle for a daily commute like yours is Detonatortuningsolutions.
He did this daily trip using a quart of fuel a day time to save money.
At speeds often around 50 mph.
He would complain that he had to hold the speed down to keep the mileage up.
Throttle discipline Boredom vs Economy. LOL
Where he lived it was legal to travel at these speeds on a motorized bicycle.
Until years later the rear wheel collapsed with no warning.
He never rode a motorized bicycle again.

He still commutes daily using an imported three cylinder car that gets somewhere around 55 mpg I believe.

He was a pioneer in high speed reliable motorized bicycle transportation.
I liked his setup so much that I use a similar setup.
I just do not drive as many miles per day as he did.

I know that another rider named Seven-Heaven uses a similar daily driver in Hawaii.

5-7HEAVEN · May 12, 2011

I have an easy 10-mile round trip to work, mostly flats, one medium hill. Cruising speed averages 30-37 mph mph, with short speed bursts up to 43 mph. Power and reliability with a Tanaka 47R engine with Tanaka three-piece expansion pipe and shift kit. xct2

I might be reassigned elsewhere, which would be a 35-mile round trip. Mostly flats with gridlock traffic.

JMO, a Honda 150 scooter would be a viable option for a 70-mile commute.

walander · May 14, 2011

I have made my 38 mile round trip on my HT a faw times, but I have broken 2 motor mounts 2 different times causing me to be late. So now im going to build something more reliable for long trips, a Robin Subaru EHO35 on a dax friction drive kit, that bike should do the trip fine.

wheelbender6 · May 14, 2011

I commuted 50 miles round trip in the Phoenix area for a year or so. However, I did that motorbike commute only ONCE per week. At that distance, there was always some post ride maintenance to be done like chain, spoke and bolt tightening and clutch cable adjustment. I had a stop light almost every mile, requiring some enroute clutch cable adjustment, so i added a cable adjuster to my clutch lever on the handlebars. I would tighten the cable while seated on the bike at a stop light.

To do a 70 mile commute I would get a four stroke motor. I don't mind mixing gas and oil for a few rides per week, but it may become very monotonous if you try to ride 350 miles per week. I would also get a 1 gallon fuel tank. I used a 3/4 gal tank for my 50 mile commute which provided some reserve for errands or battling a strong headwind.

I think making the 70 mile commute on your motorbike 3 days per week is more realistic, allowing more time for maintenance and adjustments. If you get a 2 stroke, you will need to break in the motor for 300 miles or so. You will need to limit the duration of the break in rides to 30 minutes, so plan accordingly. Good luck.

fall_down_stand_up · May 14, 2011

walander said:
I have made my 38 mile round trip on my HT a faw times, but I have broken 2 motor mounts 2 different times causing me to be late. So now im going to build something more reliable for long trips, a Robin Subaru EHO35 on a dax friction drive kit, that bike should do the trip fine.

I have the EHO35 Subaru/Robin with a GEBE kit and the motor is flawless,it runs perfect and starts on the first pull....Top speed is 27 to 28 mph and does good on hills....
John

Dave31 · May 15, 2011

When I worked at the gravel pit a few years ago my commute was 56 miles round trip. That was pretty close to the limit of my tank especially if I ran the sucker hard which I did occasionally when i was running late.

A few times I did run out of fuel but thats the beauty of a motor assisted bicycle I just pedaled the rest of the way. Never did have any mechanical problems, just regular maintenance and keeping an eye on things.

walander · May 15, 2011

fall_down_stand_up said:
I have the EHO35 Subaru/Robin with a GEBE kit and the motor is flawless,it runs perfect and starts on the first pull....Top speed is 27 to 28 mph and does good on hills....
John

I decided to put mine on one of my dax chaindrive with a 36t, the thing outruns my 66cc barnfind bike with the expansion chamber, amazing the power of the little eho35

35 miles each way for work , possible ?

New Member

New Member

New Member

New Member

New Member

New Member

New Member

a guy who makes cool bikes

New Member

New Member

New Member

Resident Mad Scientist

New Member

New Member

Well-Known Member

New Member

Well-Known Member

New Member

Active Member

New Member